Line #115 Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS4E21TheReturn


1	Coulson and the team's victory in the Framework is short-lived, as an even deadlier enemy looms against them all.
2	----
3	!!Tropes in this episode:
4	* ActuallyADoombot: Ivanov was already a remote-piloted LMD, but when Coulson decapitates him with his energy shield, another Ivanov LMD comes in. Apparently he made more copies, all of which are under the control of his BrainInAJar.
5	* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Invoked by Ivanov while he's reading the Darkhold. We don't know what it is telling him, though.
6	--> '''Ivanov:''' There are actually a few funny passages in here.
7	* AllYourPowersCombined: The reveal of Project Looking Glass -- create an Inhuman body for Aida complete with '''''every''''' Inhuman ability she researched in the Framework. So far she has displayed {{teleportation}}, [[ShockAndAwe electrokinesis]], {{super strength}} and [[HealingFactor regenerative abilities]], with potentially hundreds more in the wings.
8	* ArbitrarySkepticism: You'd think Talbot would have realized by now what kind of [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse crazy supernatural world]] he lives in, and would be a little more willing to believe Coulson's story.
9	* BaitAndSwitch: After fighting two of Ivanov's [=LMDs=], Coulson tells May that he hasn't been totally honest with her about what she missed, implying that he's about to admit to the kiss with LMD May. Instead, Coulson admits that he drank the bottle of Haig he and May were saving. [[LostFoodGrievance May is incredibly pissed off]].
10	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor:
11	** Aida quickly regrets making herself human, as she doesn't have experience with any kind of emotional pain. The only thing that seems to give her even momentary comfort is making others feel that pain if she must.
12	** Yo-Yo wanted to be with Mack, but he wants to be with Hope. So Yo-Yo jumps into the Framework alongside him -- and wakes up StrappedToAnOperatingTable unable to move.
13	* BetrayalByInaction: What Yo-Yo accuses Daisy of when she finds out Mack is still in the Framework. She's understandably upset that they left him there until Daisy tells her about Hope, at which point she visibly deflates.
14	* BerserkButton: Simmons's itchy trigger finger moves almost as soon as she sees Aida with Fitz. She was using an ICER, but still.
15	* BigBadDuumvirate: After Ivanov is no longer restricted, he and Aida seem on a more equal footing now.
16	* BigNo: Aida lets out a string of epic ones after Fitz tells her that he chooses Jemma over her.
17	* BondOneLiner: Coulson gets one after beating the first Ivanov-bot.
18	-->'''Ivanov''': You are nothing now, without a S.H.I.E.L.D. to hide behind.\
19	''(Coulson activates the force-shield in his artificial hand, slicing off Ivanov's face.)''\
20	'''Coulson''': That's not all they're good for.
21	* BrickJoke: In the previous episode, Radcliffe stated how Aida has acted like a terrible teenage daughter. Here, her breakdown upon Fitz's rejection looks like a spoiled teenage girl who becomes very angry when she doesn't get what she wants.
22	* BullyingADragon: Aida, now human, can feel empathy, and doesn't want Coulson, Mack, or May to die. She orders Ivanov to call off his attack on the oil rig, but he informs her that since he completed her objective, she can't control him anymore. Furthermore, he's hidden his organic head in a secret location to prevent anyone from stopping him. He may be powerless to stop her, but she now has no means to stop him.
23	* TheBusCameBack: Just before TheStinger, Ghost Rider emerges from the interdimensional transporter.
24	* ButForMeItWasTuesday: May doesn't recognize Ivanov as one of the mooks she beat up in a mission that took place twenty-plus years previously, any more than Coulson did. Bonus points for being played by Creator/MingNaWen, participant in [[Film/StreetFighter the original]] TropeNamer.
25	* CallBack:
26	** After Aida unleashes her superpowers, an exasperated Coulson looks up towards the heavens and begs, "Can we get a break, please?!". At the end of the episode, his prayers are answered; not by Heaven, but by Hell in the form of Ghost Rider; much like Robbie Reyes's own prayers during the crash caused by the Locos.
27	** While debating what to do with Aida, Yo-Yo offers to chop her head off, like Mack did in [[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS4E9BrokenPromises "Broken Promises"]].
28	** May snarks that she should have stayed in [[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS4E10ThePatriot the]] [[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS4E11WakeUp spa]].
29	* CardboardPrison: Even through she's put in what is said to be a TailorMadePrison for Inhumans, it only took Aida a few seconds to get out of it. They failed to anticipate her having multiple powers.
30	* ChekhovsClassroom: Coulson knows exactly where and what Ivanov's base is, not from any S.H.I.E.L.D. briefing, but from being a history teacher in the Framework.
31	* ComboPlatterPowers: Aida's body is practically stuffed with Inhuman powers from Framework Fitz experimenting on Inhumans with those powers and finding a way to duplicate them. She has {{Teleportation}}, SuperStrength, ShockAndAwe, and a HealingFactor. There may be even more than that.
32	* CurseCutShort: May calls Coulson a "piece of sh--" for drinking the bottle of scotch Fury gave him without her, which is cut off by Ivanov firing torpedoes at the oil rig.
33	* CuttingTheKnot: Rather than keep trying to kill Coulson and May, Ivanov just has two copies make a token effort while he leaves in the submarine and then sinks the entire rig behind him.
34	* DarkestHour: Team Coulson is on the run from both the military and Aida, Yo-Yo has jumped into the Framework to try and bring Mack back, Fitz's mental state is at its lowest, and Aida is a psychologically unstable PhysicalGod planning to turn the real world into one similar to the Framework with Ivanov. [[RayOfHopeEnding And then, light comes in the form of]] [[ComicBook/GhostRider a flaming skull]]...
35	* DoubleMeaningTitle: Not only is this episode about Team Coulson and their return into the real world, but with the ending, it is also the return of Ghost Rider.
36	* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Averted; when Aida insists that Fitz has to love her after he rejects her, it's treated as horrifying and the moment where they need to get him out of there. He's visibly shaken after, and Jemma gets over her own discomfort following his time as "the Doctor" to console him.
37	* DidntSeeThatComing: Coulson's currently not aware that Ivanov's now an LMD controlled by a BrainInAJar. Needless to say, when they have a fight, Coulson is at a disadvantage.
38	* DragonWithAnAgenda: Ivanov makes it clear that he only ever followed Aida's command for his own gains and because of his LMD restrictions. Now that he is free, he flat-out refuses to stop going after Team Coulson when Aida tries to appeal to him. After she comes back out for the team's blood again, they seem to [[BigBadDuumvirate form a more equal partnership]].
39	* DrowningMySorrows: Ivanov offers Aida vodka after she returns upset at Fitz's rejection. She accepts, first the shot that he pours her, then chugging straight from the bottle.
40	* EntitledToHaveYou: As far as Aida's concerned, Fitz should love her since she's chosen to love him, and also worked her ass off in order to become human and feel love in the first place. His attempts to explain the flaws in this logic fall on deaf ears.
41	* ExactWords:
42	** After May remarks that Coulson will have to give her mouth-to-mouth if an epinephrine shot leaves her unconscious, Coulson gets awkward, remembering the kiss he had with LMD May. Unaware of what happened, May asks if her LMD made a move on Coulson or tried to kill him. Since LMD May ''did'' try to kill him, Coulson [[SureLetsGoWithThat puts it down to that.]]
43	** Fitz calls Aida out for trying to use this, ''hard''. Aida tries to defend herself by saying that what she said wasn't ''technically'' a lie, but Fitz tells her that it was still manipulation and that it was still wrong. Aida doesn't see it as important now that she's human, which makes Fitz very uncomfortable.
44	* FanDisservice: Aida angrily kissing Ivanov and removing his shirt, seemingly intending to have sex with him, is already disturbing enough considering that she's now human and he's an LMD, but then she ''smashes his head in''.
45	* FirstGirlWins: In the end, Fitz can only love one woman: Jemma. Aida takes it badly. [[{{Yandere}} Very badly.]]
46	-->'''Aida:''' There's only room in your heart for--\
47	'''Fitz:''' For her.
48	* FiveSecondForeshadowing: In the beginning, Ivanov is seen complaining to one of his henchmen, who the camera doesn't show in full. Annoyed by the henchman's silence, he leaves, grumbling that he's "tired of talking to [him]self". A few minutes later, we see that the "henchman" he was talking to was, in fact, another one of himself, [[MesACrowd and he has more]].
49	* FlatWhat: Aida after Fitz confesses he still loves Jemma.
50	* FrameUp: After Mace's death, Ivanov took a hammer and mutilated the body, in such a way that once the body washed up on a beach, Daisy was blamed because the damage to his bones made it look like he was quaked to death. Now the world suspects she's leading a traitorous faction of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Given that Talbot found the Playground nearly destroyed, filled with injured agents and LMD parts, it's not surprising that it worked.
51	-->'''Talbot:''' Can you explain that?\
52	'''Coulson:''' ... I can try.
53	* GilliganCut: A rare positive example.
54	--> '''Daisy:''' Coulson and May just woke up with no idea where they are or what they're up against.\
55	'''Coulson:''' I know where we are, I think!
56	* GoneHorriblyRight: Ivanov has now hidden his head in a secret location and produced ''dozens'' of [=LMDs=] of himself (and can presumably make more whenever he wants), making it extremely hard to kill him... or control him, as Aida learns the hard way.
57	* GoodFeelsGood: Aida discovers this after saving Mack's life. Although, after getting her heart broken by Fitz, Ivanov is more than happy to show her that EvilFeelsGood too.
58	* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Aida, on Fitz's urging, takes it upon herself to undo the damage she had caused as far as she possibly can, despite her initial fears of death, not only directly confronting an Ivanov LMD, but even saving Mack from drowning on the sinking oil rig without considering the risks involved in unplugging him from the Framework by force. Too bad she quickly goes into full {{Yandere}} mode the instant Fitz confirms he still loves Simmons.
59	* HeelRealization: Aida realizes all the horrible stuff she did after gaining a conscience. Unfortunately, it then turns into IgnoredEpiphany when Fitz rejects her.
60	* HeroWithBadPublicity: S.H.I.E.L.D. ''again''. The explosion at the Playground attracted the attention of the government, who found quite a few destroyed [=LMDs=] and several injured agents. The small handful of agents uncounted for are labeled as suspected terrorists and since Daisy is among them, her powers are seen as the likely cause of the mess. Also, after Mace's death, Aida and Ivanov arranged his body to be found and implicate Daisy as his killer. This is why the plane couldn't refuel or recharge. Now Talbot has no idea who to trust because anyone could be a robot.
61	* HesBack: Just before the last scene, Ghost Rider steps out of the portal, literally back from Hell.
62	* HopeSpot: For half the episode it looks like Fitz is going to convince Aida to perform a HeelFaceTurn and make amends for the crimes she committed while an android by helping take down Ivanov, even saving Mack from drowning. Then Fitz admits that he's still in love with Simmons and Aida ''snaps''.
63	* IgnoredEpiphany: After being rejected by Fitz, Aida throws all of her new-found empathy out the window and goes on a murderous rampage.
64	* InspectorJavert: Talbot, once again, after having found the mess Team Coulson and Aida left behind. He assumes that all of the team are still secretly robots.
65	* TheJuggernaut: Aida becomes absolutely unstoppable after breaking free. Fitz even tells the Team to run the hell away.
66	* KnowWhenToFoldEm: As the ''Zephyr'' is taking off to escape Aida, Daisy offers to let Talbot and his men come if they drop their guns. Thinking better of trying to test their guns against her powers, Talbot backs off and lets the ''Zephyr'' leave.
67	* LargeHam: After over a season as the emotionless Aida or coldly pragmatic Madame Hydra, Creator/MalloryJansen gets to cut loose as Aida experiences the full range of human emotion. Mostly negative ones, unfortunately.
68	-->'''Aida:''' I ''clawed'' my way through that world, ''worked'' myself to the bone, to have a ''choice'', to ''have'' bones, and ''blood'', and ''freedom'', and '''love!''' And -- '''[[BigNo NO!]]'''
69	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: May says, "It's good to be back." Cue the ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' logo, '''not''' ''[[SpecialEditionTitle Agents of HYDRA]]''. It also reflects on the episode's title, "The Return".
70	* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Having been imprisoned in the Framework since the end of the Ghost Rider arc, May has no idea who Ivanov is, as he was introduced late in the LMD arc. She also doesn't know how the Ghost Rider arc ended. Coulson fills her in on both, while leaving out the more [[TheBigDamnKiss awkward details]].
71	* MauveShirt: Agent Prince is killed by AIDA via a NeckSnap, which is a shame, since he was given some characterization throughout the season while the rest of the team was away in the Framework. Agent Davis also is apparently killed as the scene [[GoryDiscretionShot cuts away]], but it turns out that he survived, as shown during the next season.
72	* MesACrowd: Ivanov has multiple copies of himself running around, and presumably has the means to make more. Given that Ivanov orders the copies of himself around, it appears that [[BrainInAJar his head]] can only directly control one LMD at a time, {{Body Surf}}ing between them as needed (such as when one "dies"), while the others are just drones programmed to follow his orders.
73	* MookHorrorShow: Aida is this for the U.S. soldiers and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents after going on her rampage. Talbot hears on his radio that "she's everywhere!" amidst the sound of gun shots and screaming.
74	* MythologyGag:
75	** Aida having the powers of a lot of Inhumans makes her similar to Marvel characters like [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Super-Skrull]], [[ComicBook/XMen Mimic]] and the [[ComicBook/TheAvengers Super-Adaptoid]].
76	** Ivanov [to Aida] "We both know there are things beyond this universe, and you may, in fact, be one of them." Hinting that Aida may become a version of [[ComicBook/SecretWars1984 the Beyonder]].
77	** Ivanov describes himself as being "designed only for killing," as was the Marvel character [[ComicBook/{{MODOK}} M.O.D.O.K.]]
78	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Discussed by Simmons, who doubts that someone who named herself "Madame Hydra" is the type to reform their ways.
79	* NeverMyFault: Aida says that everything that happened in the Framework was Radcliffe's fault and she only ever followed her programming. Pretty far fetched, given that she ''murdered'' the man and had him trapped in the Framework (though she did employ LoopholeAbuse so that it still satisfied her programming), as well as the fact that everything bad happening to the world in there was on her Madame Hydra self's watch. Strangely, Fitz doesn't even call her out on it.
80	* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] as Ophelia/Aida purposefully copied an unknown number of Inhuman abilities.
81	--> '''Piper:''' At least the machinery in there will keep her power contained.\
82	'''Fitz:''' No, that's not her only power!\
83	''[cue Aida [[ShockAndAwe throwing lightning]]]''
84	* NotGoodWithRejection: Aida/Ophelia, after Fitz doesn't return her love, decides to give AbductionIsLove a try. Then comes the screams and the killing.
85	* NotSoDifferentRemark: Fitz realizes that he's not so different from Ward -- all it took was an evil father figure to strip away any goodness and empathy from him. His depression causes him to miss the obvious point: that they both had to be manipulated into full-on villainy (as proved by Framework Ward, who was recruited by Victoria Hand instead of John Garrett, and became more or less a hero).
86	* OffWithHisHead: Coulson activates his energy shield while it's lined up with Ivanov's face, cutting the front part of his head off. Unfortunately, there's more of him and that trick only works once.
87	* OhCrap:
88	** In the beginning, Aida's HeelRealization at Team Coulson's impending deaths at the oil rig.
89	** Coulson's and May's reaction when Ivanov {{No Sell}}s their bullets.
90	** Fitz is in a perpetual state of terror once Aida loses her temper, knowing that with her powers, ''everyone'' is screwed.
91	** May has this reaction upon learning that Aida has escaped and is rampaging throughout the Playground.
92	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Seeing the normally stoic Aida overwhelmed by her feelings is already strange, but seeing her lose her temper, shouting and going on a bloody rampage is outright terrifying.
93	* OutOfTheFryingPan: Team Coulson (sans Mack) got themselves out of the Framework in the previous episode... and into a sinking ''oil rig'' controlled by the enemy. Daisy and Jemma, meanwhile, are on the ''Zephyr''... which has little power and is being shot down.
94	* PetTheDog: Ivanov is surprisingly sympathetic towards the heartbroken Aida/Ophelia, telling her that her heartbreak will heal in time while offering her a [[DrowningMySorrows drink]].
95	* ProperlyParanoid: Talbot may still be a ButtMonkey, but you sure can't blame him for suspecting everyone in Team Coulson to be an android.
96	* PsychopathicManchild: What becoming human (or Inhuman?) turns Aida into is crazy and immature. While she has the capacity for reasonable and rational thought like an adult, her new emotions are as intense and unrefined as a baby's. When Fitz admits that he is still in love with Jemma, Aida screams and thrashes around like a SpoiledBrat being told "No" for the first time.
97	* PunchPunchPunchUhOh: {{Subverted\|Trope}}. Coulson fights an android Ivanov to no avail... all to lure it into a trap.
98	* RealityWarper: Ivanov tells Aida that the Darkhold contains instructions on how to make the Framework world become real.
99	* TheReveal: Aida's powers were somehow copied or extracted from the Inhumans that HYDRA captured and tested in the Framework. It gets worse when she snaps after Fitz admits he still loves Jemma, and she starts using ''more'' than one power.
100	* SenseFreak: Aida showed a bit of sensory overload at the end of the last episode, but she really dials it up to eleven in this one. She really wasn't prepared to feel pain.
101	* ShoutOut: Talbot tells his men to assume anyone can be a [[Franchise/StarWars C-3PO]] until he says otherwise.
102	* StealthPun: Fitz realizes he's a broken man, and tries to cut Jemma out of his life, and at the end of the episode she finds him sitting in one of the containment units. He's literally and metaphorically in a prison of his own design.
103	* StrappedToAnOperatingTable: In the Framework, Yo-Yo wakes up strapped to an operating table while the building she's in is burning.
104	* TheStinger: Yo-Yo wakes up in the Framework strapped to an operating table in a collapsing building, without her powers (and even if she does have her powers, they wouldn't do her much good, as SuperSpeed isn't that useful if you can't move).
105	* SuddenlyShouting: Aida, after Fitz turns her down. It really comes out of nowhere and is very scary.
106	* SuperpowerLottery: Aida gave herself every power from every Inhuman that HYDRA studied inside the Framework. So far, she has demonstrated {{Teleportation}}, ShockAndAwe, SuperStrength, ''and'' a HealingFactor.
107	* SuperToughness: While the Ivanov LMD's don't have the SuperStrength Aida had, they sure as hell can take a lot of punishment. Robot frame, after all.
108	* TalkingToThemself: Ivanov even lampshades this. He keeps talking to all nearby [=LMDs=] of himself despite the fact that they are all copies of himself, not individuals.
109	* TeleportSpam: Aida uses her teleportation to get behind people and kill them.
110	* TemptingFate:
111	** Just when Ivanov taunts Coulson about not being able to hide behind his S.H.I.E.L.D., he gets his face cut off... by Coulson's energy shield.
112	** Coulson wonders why Ivanov won't simply flood the place to kill them. A minute later, that's exactly what happens.
113	* TenderTears / ManlyTears: Towards the end of the episode, Fitz and Jemma both openly cry over everything that happened to them during the Framework storyline.
114	* ThatManIsDead: Aida/Ophelia refers to "Aida" in the third person, past tense. Evidently, she now considers her old robotic self to be an entirely different being. Coulson does the same, referring to his Framework self as a separate entity, despite having his memories.
115	* TrashTheSet: We see that the Playground is wrecked after the bomb went off in "Self-Control."
116	* VillainHasAPoint: As sadistic as Ivanov's rebuttal was, he's right in that Aida, still being new to her own humanity, can't fully process complex emotions like regret, delayed/no gratification, or even her own empathy.
117	* VillainousBreakdown: After Fitz rejects her, for the first time ever (well, technically the second time, but the first one was pretty subtle), we see Aida completely lose her cool. It's an absolutely ''terrifying'' sight.
118	* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: After returning to the Playground, Team Coulson debate on what to do with Aida. Daisy and Coulson think she can be rehabilitated after saving Mack, while Jemma and Yo-Yo argue that they should put her down (Yo-Yo even offers to decapitate her [[CallBack like before]]). May ultimately says that there has been enough killing, settling the matter. Then Aida goes crazy after Fitz chooses Jemma over Aida, making killing her the only option left.
119	* WomanScorned: Hell hath no fury like an android-that-became-a-woman scorned. Aida '''''flips out''''' when she realizes that Fitz still loves Jemma instead of her. She got loose from the cell (specially designed to keep Inhumans trapped) and started a killing spree.
120	-->'''Aida:''' I chose ''you'', now you choose ''me.''\
121	'''Fitz:''' That's ''not'' how it works, you can't ''control'' everyone anymore!\
122	'''Aida:''' Watch. We ''will'' build a life together, whether you ''want'' to or '''not'''.
123	* WorfHadTheFlu: May is still worn out from her months long imprisonment in the Framework. She defeats an Ivanov LMD after injecting herself with epinephrine, but only just barely, and collapses immediately afterwards.
124	* {{Yandere}}: Aida makes it ''violently'' clear that she will ''not'' accept that Fitz would have any other woman than herself.

Context Recap / AgentsOfSHIELDS4E21TheReturn